Page 67 of A Very Miller-Cooper Life

Reagan put an arm around my waist and leaned into me. “The first time I put a ring on your finger out here, it was a complete disaster. I’m hoping this time goes a little better.”

“This time?”What the hell is she up to right now?

Reagan pulled what appeared to be a ring out of her pocket, but before I got the chance to get a good look at it, it slipped from her hands and rolled down the roof then completely disappeared over the edge.

“Fuck!” Reagan shouted as she stared in disbelief at the edge of the roof. “Shit. Fuck.”

My heart rate picked up as I leaned forward as if I would actually be able to see where the small object went.Shit. Before I could lean far enough to slip, Reagan grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Much to my surprise, when I looked over at her, she was laughing. What could possibly be funny about this?

Reagan shook her head and whistled. “You should see your face right now.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Why aren’t you freaking out?”

Reagan pointed to the edge of the roof. “Because that was a fake. Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” Reagan pulled a small bag out of her other pocket. She dumped it into her hand and the most gorgeous diamond ring fell out. It was somehow even more beautiful than the one on my finger.

“But… I thought we agreed we were only doing new wedding bands. This is a whole new engagement ring.”

Reagan shrugged nonchalantly but the wide smile on her face told me she knew what a big deal this was. “It’s not just from me. It’s from the whole family. The different stones are everyone’s birthstones.” She pointed to each colored stone going around the big diamond. “There’s yours. That’s mine. The triplets right there. This one is Mallory’s and then of course Duncan.”

“Can’t forget Duncan.” I smiled at the thought of our first grandson, only three months old but already my entire world. I couldn’t wait for him to get here in a few days.

Reagan slid the ring onto my finger, then ran her own finger along the stones. “The best part is that the jeweler said it would be easy to get these small diamonds replaced with more birthstones as our family grows.”

“Which birthstone do you think will be added next?” I asked as I stared at the ring. “Quinton? Another baby for Ronan? Jax?” I winked when I said the last name since it was an ongoing joke between me and Reagan that Carter and Jax would someday end up together.

“I would love to say Jax, but I think at this point, we can forget about that ever happening. They’ve known each other so long and still don’t have any sort of relationship. Who knows when Quinton and Olivia will settle down. They still don’t even live in the same city.”

Quinton was the bartender Olivia had chatted up at Ronan’s wedding. It took them another year after the wedding to finally make things official, and even now, Olivia was still in New York while Quinton lived outside of Philadelphia (which was at least closer than when he lived in Pittsburgh). I was secretly hoping Olivia would decide to move to him so she could live closer to us.

“So, what you’re saying is that I should probably get used to how this looks now because it’s not changing any time soon?” I moved my hand around to bask in the way the sunlight reflected off the stones. “Luckily, I think it’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

“Anything to show you how much our time together has meant to me.”

“I thought that’s what this whole week was about.”

“Of course it is.” Reagan brought my hand to her lips and placed a light kiss on it. “Starting with the reenactment of our first date tomorrow.”

My stomach fluttered at the thought. “I know. I’m so glad Jamie decided to buy a boat now that my parents don’t have theirs anymore.”

*

The next day, Reagan and I walked hand in hand to the spot where Jamie and Ethan’s boat was docked. I smiled when I saw the open water. “I’m glad it’s early enough in the season that a ton of people aren’t out yet.”

Reagan turned toward me and put her hands on my waist, a devilish smirk on her face. “What I’m hearing is that you were hoping to get me all alone.”

I leaned in and rubbed our noses together. “I mean, I don’t hate it.”

Once we climbed onto the boat, Reagan laid the blanket down and I set out our picnic. After eating our sandwiches and chips, we laid side by side and held hands as we both stared up at the beautiful blue sky.

Reagan sighed contentedly. “Even after all this time, I can still remember our first date as if it was yesterday.”

“And that’s saying something coming from the woman who forgets what I asked her to look up on her phone the moment she picks it up,” I teased.

“Right?” Reagan laughed. “Just goes to show how much that day meant to me. I remember thinking I must be crazy to have such strong feelings for someone I barely knew, but there was something about you.” Reagan rolled onto her side and looked at me as if I had hung the sun in the sky. “There’s still something about you.”

I leaned in to kiss her, and I didn’t stop. We spent our whole date laying on that blanket and making out as if we were teenagers. It didn’t go any further than that, but I didn’t need it to. It was perfect.

By the time we were walking back to the car, I could barely feel my lips from all the kissing. “Today was amazing. I’m so glad we did it.”

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